He unleashed a world-class goal with a single kick; you're saying this is Su Chao?

This girl is such a good talker!

Like a husky that has been locked up for a long time and finally found someone to talk to.

But surprisingly, he didn't find it annoying.

During this time at the base, he was surrounded by rough, tough guys who talked about nothing but training and matches every day. Occasionally, they would talk about other things, but it was always about Wang Yu's late-night lewd remarks.

He found it quite novel that someone was suddenly talking to him about normal human topics in such a talkative way.

"Do you soccer players get called 'sea cucumbers' every day?"

Chen Xun was taken aback: "I've never eaten sea cucumber before."

"Isn't it said online that the Chinese national football team eats sea cucumbers every day?"

"That's the national team. We're just an amateur club. We've never even seen what a sea cucumber looks like."

Chen Xun said with some melancholy, "Besides, the cafeteria auntie's braised chicken is already the highest standard; usually it's just cabbage stew with vermicelli."

He was really tired of the food in the cafeteria!

"You're so pitiful!"

Lu Ning said sympathetically, "Although the food in our school cafeteria is also terrible, at least there is meat in every meal—beef, chicken breast, fish. We can't go without it, otherwise we won't be able to keep up with the training volume."

"Your boxing team gets better treatment than us!"

"Of course!"

Lu Ning proudly raised her chin: "Boxing is an Olympic sport, so there's a lot of funding. Your football... um... that..."

She didn't finish speaking, but Chen Xun already understood.

Chinese football receives substantial funding, but that funding comes from the top levels of government.

For amateur clubs at the bottom level, having even a decent training facility is already a blessing.

The topic was too heavy, so the two tacitly skipped it.

Twenty minutes have passed.

The old Chinese medicine doctor came over and removed the cups: "I've cupped twenty for you this time. Young people tend to have a lot of dampness in their bodies, so cupping them a few more times will be good for your training."

The words appeared before my eyes at just the right time:

[Current cupping session count: 40/100]

Messi - Dribbling Breakthrough (Beginner): 40%

60% still needed!

Just three more tries and you'll unlock it!

Lu Ning, who was next to her, had already gotten dressed and jumped off the bed.

Her movements were as light and agile as a cat's, showing no trace of the whimpering she had just endured from the cupping.

"Let's add each other on WeChat!"

She took out her phone, and on the screen was a Shiba Inu wearing boxing gloves.

"We have a competition next month, would you like to come watch if you're free?"

Lu Ning put her phone back in her pocket: "It's at the city stadium, not far from your base."

"OK!"

Chen Xun readily agreed: "We also have a competition next month, the provincial championship league. I'll send you the live stream link then."

"You guys still do live streams?"

"It's said that someone is broadcasting it on Douyin."

"I'll definitely watch it!"

Lu Ning clenched her fist.

The two walked down the stairs together, watched by the old Chinese medicine doctor and the middle-aged woman.

Lu Ning hopped onto an electric scooter covered in boxing stickers, started it, and turned back to shout to Chen Xun:

"Hey, Chen Xun."

"Um?"

"Let's arrange to do cupping together next time. It's so boring doing it alone. Sister Wu isn't very talkative, and if my dad comes with me, he talks too much—it's so annoying!"

Chen Xun thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay!"

Lu Ning grinned, twisted the throttle, and the electric scooter sped off with a buzzing sound, her hair whipping in an arc in the evening breeze.

Chen Xun rode his electric bike back to the base.

As soon as I turned into the gate, I saw Zhao Rui squatting at the entrance of the dormitory building, eating a watermelon.

Zhao Rui caught sight of the marks on Chen Xun's back and exclaimed as if he'd discovered something amazing: "Brother Lei! Brother Hao! Come quick! Chen Xun's had cupping done again!"

After that shout, several heads popped out from the dormitory building.

Zhao Lei stuck his head out of the second-floor window, Zhang Hao popped out from the corner of the first-floor corridor, and Haozi jumped down the stairs with half a sausage in his hand.

"Chen Xun, let me give you some advice. Cupping is good, but you can't overdo it. Look at what those health and wellness accounts say. Too much cupping can damage your vital energy. You're young and have a good foundation, but you can't take advantage of your youth and do whatever you want."

Zhao Lei shouted from the second-floor window.

"Brother Lei, the health-conscious account said you should get rid of staying up late. What time did you stay up playing games last week?"

Wang Yu also joined in at some point.

Zhao Lei was taken aback: "That was... the last ranked match, I couldn't sleep if I didn't win."

"That's the last time Chen Xun will have cupping done; otherwise, his legs will hurt so much he won't be able to sleep."

"What's it to you? Stop spouting nonsense!"

Zhao Lei threw an empty bottle down from the second floor.

Wang Yu nimbly dodged.

……

The provincial championship league is drawing ever closer.

Chen Xun's daily training rhythm became almost fixed.

Morning exercises begin at 6:30 AM, followed by physical and technical training in the morning, tactical drills and group sparring in the afternoon, and extra training in the evening.

The proficiency level on the skill panel is skyrocketing.

Robben's inside cut proficiency has increased to 89%.

The proficiency level in the Football Basics Skills Package (Intermediate) also increases rapidly.

In the group scrimmage, Zhou Guoliang began to deliberately put pressure on Chen Xun, making him simultaneously cover both the right wing and the flank runs, and his frequency of receiving the ball doubled compared to before.

The high frequency of ball touches boosted his passing proficiency from 78% to 85%, his ball control to 91%, and his dribbling to 95%!

But after reaching 90% proficiency, Chen Xun felt that the progress was slowing down.

In several consecutive team training sessions, my proficiency has increased very little!

"Chen Xun, your progress is too fast!"

Zhao Rui, with a spicy snack dangling from his mouth, plopped down next to him: "Brother Lei said you must have been secretly playing soccer games in the dorm. Playing all night made your skills improve the next day!"

"Brother Hao said you were abducted by aliens and experimented on."

"Mouse says you're definitely possessed by some retired football legend."

Chen Xun: "..."

With such a vivid imagination, why don't you write novels!

"Are you there? Are you there? Are you there? Are you there?"

His phone kept vibrating.

It was a message from Lu Ning.

Four in a row!

"exist!"

"Should I go to the TCM clinic? My coach has really tortured me again, my shoulder is almost ruined, and I desperately need Sister Wu's fascia knife to save my life!"

Chen Xun glanced at the stagnant proficiency level on the skill panel and typed a reply:

"Go, what time?"

"Go now, I'll be waiting for you at the alley entrance!"

Chen Xun put away his phone and walked towards Li Jun's office.

Li Jun was sitting in his office organizing competition registration forms.

Seeing Chen Xun push the door open and come in, he grinned and asked, "How's the training going lately? Can you handle it?"

Since Chen Xun joined Aozhi, he has brought honor to the company and is now a rising star among Aozhi's younger generation.

If he wins the championship this time, he'll have to treat Lao Xu to a good meal.

Thank you for sending your precious apprentice.

Chen Xun grinned: "Uncle Li, I'm here to get the health center card."

Li Jun's face stiffened.

"You little rascal... are you too obsessed with health? Have you forgotten what I told you last time?"

Chen Xun was about to speak when Li Jun interrupted him: "Your frequency is almost like that of a retired cadre, could it be something wrong with your health..."

"Uncle Li, I..."

Chen Xun was about to defend himself, but then swallowed his words.

He saw Li Jun take out a membership card and electric scooter keys from the drawer and throw them at him.

"Go if you want to. It's your own body, and some things... well... it's good to take care of them in time."

"Uncle Li, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Chen Xun was somewhat puzzled.

Li Jun waved his hand: "Go quickly, and come back soon!"

Chen Xun always felt that Li Jun's gaze towards him was strange, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why.

He took the keys, went downstairs, got on his electric scooter, and left the base.

In his office, Li Jun took out his phone, scrolled through it for a while until he found the landline number for the traditional Chinese medicine clinic, hesitated for a moment, and then dialed it.

"Hey, Lao Wu, I want to ask you something... It's about that young man I led last time, he's been going there a lot lately... No, I don't suspect anything, I just want to ask... is there anything wrong with his health?"

The old Chinese medicine doctor's voice on the other end of the phone was full of energy: "He's in very good health, just a bit too damp. It's normal for young people to have a lot of training."

"Then why does he go so often?"

"You'll have to ask him that, how would I know?"

The old Chinese medicine doctor paused for a moment: "But when he arrived, there happened to be a young girl who does boxing, and the two got along quite well."

Li Jun's expression immediately relaxed, and he said in a businesslike tone, "Okay, I understand. Thank you, Dr. Wu."

After hanging up the phone, he leaned back in his chair, stared at the ceiling, and muttered to himself, "It's so good to be young!"